Death by cookies.

Well hello again! Yes, I made cookies again.... I swear it isn't all we eat at our house! :) I have just been on a cookie kick lately. They are easy to throw together, fun to make with my little cuties, and oh ya... They are freaking delicious. Nothing like a cookie or three to brighten your day. 

I have not really had a ton of free time, or hands for that matter, to make anything elaborate for dinner. We have just been winging it around the Muir household since baby boy came. I have stopped feeling guilty about that and am now embracing my new limited moments of *me* time. I am done whining about how few and far between they are. This is my life, and I am going to make the most of those moments if I can. Last night those moments were spent blissfully making and devouring cookies! It was sooo what the doctor ordered too. :)

Now down to the nitty gritty. I made Chocolate Crinkle Cookies, and home made Samoas (only a million times better than the girl scout variety!)

Those bad boys are truly going to be the death of me! The Chocolate Crinkles are so yummy. Eating them reminds me of sneaking tastes of Devils food cake batter as a kid, but even better. :)

The Samoas may actually be the most dangerously delicious cookies I have ever made. I am not kidding either. Do not make these! You WILL eat like 10 of them, and lets not forget the missing cookie dough and shortbread "crumbs" that somehow disappeared in the process! Ha ha. I hold no remorse. It was worth it.

I found the recipe for the Chocolate Crinkle Cookies on The Joy Of Baking website. I have tried to make them before without a great result, and this time around I experimented a bit, and found what I think are a few tricks to better cookies.

1- Up the baking temp to 375. Maybe it is my elevation maybe not, but this worked well for me.

2- After you have coated your chocolate balls in powdered sugar, refrigerate them again. This will help with the cookies holding their shape a bit better. :)

3- Try to use high quality chocolate. The flavor will be so much better. I used Noel milk chocolate. But dark chocolate would be delish too. Next time I am going to try that. Valrhona would also be a good brand.

Chocolate Crinkles

Ingrediens:

4 tablespoons (56 grams) unsalted butter

8 ounces (230 grams) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated white sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups (195 grams) all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Topping:

1 cup (110 grams) confectioners (powdered or icing) sugar, sifted

*I let Elena roll them into balls and coat them in the powdered sugar. It was a total mess as you can see, but she really had fun with it! Who wouldn't? I would like to have such a carefree attitude and spill sugar all over the place unfazed! Ha ha.

Making cookies is much more fun when you have such a cute helper.

Preparation:

In a heatproof bowl, placed over a saucepan of simmering water, melt the chocolate and butter. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.

In the bowl of your electric mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment (or with a hand mixer), beat the eggs and sugar until thick, pale, and fluffy (about 3 to 5 minutes). (When you slowly raise the beaters the batter will fall back into the bowl in slow ribbons.) Then beat in the vanilla extract. Add the cooled chocolate mixture and beat until incorporated.

In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder. Add dry ingredients to the chocolate mixture, stirring just until incorporated. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm enough to shape into balls (several hours or even overnight).

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Place the sifted confectioners sugar in a shallow bowl. First, form the chilled dough into 1 inch (2.5 cm) balls, and then roll each ball in the sugar. Make sure each ball is completely coated, with no chocolate showing through. Place the sugar-covered balls on the prepared baking sheet, spacing about 2 inches (5 cm) apart.

Bake cookies for about 8 to 10 minutes or just until the edges are slightly firm but the centers are still soft. (For moist chewy cookies do not over bake. Over baking these cookies will cause them to be dry.) Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. These cookies are best eaten the day they are baked.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies.
Oh ya baby! Yum...That.Is.All.

Now for the Samoas!!!

These are naughty little devils.

You are going to d.i.e.

Prepare yourself.

Samoas

You need some Shortbread Cookies to start with. I found this recipe that I really like HERE if you want to check it out. However I did write the recipe below. Just be careful, you might accidentally eat half the batch because these are so good on their own. They have a wonderful flavor and texture. So, you might want to make one and a half batches and have some shortbread cookies to munch on later too! :)

Ingredients:

For Shortbread Cookies:

2 cups (260 grams) all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon (2 grams) salt

1 cup (2 sticks) (226 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup (60 grams) powdered (confectioners or icing) sugar

1 teaspoon (4 grams) pure vanilla extract

Preparation:

In a separate bowl whisk the flour with the salt.  Set aside.

In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the butter until smooth and creamy (about 1 minute). Add the sugar and beat until smooth (about 2 minutes).  Beat in the vanilla extract. Gently stir in the flour mixture just until incorporated.  Flatten the dough into a disk shape, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill the dough for at least an hour or until firm.  

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) with the rack in the middle of the oven.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

On a lightly floured surface roll out the dough into a 1/4 inch (.6 cm) thick circle.  Cut into rounds or other shapes using a lightly floured cookie cutter.  Place on the prepared baking sheets and place in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes. (This will firm up the dough so the cookies will maintain their shape when baked.) Bake for 8 - 10 minutes, or until cookies are very lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack.

Ingredients for topping:

4-5 cups fresh shreadded coconut

about 2 cups melted caramel

1 1/2 cups melted chocolate with 2 tablespoons milk

Preparation:

Make your shortbread cookies first. 

When they are finished, toast your coconut on a low broil, watching closely. Stir occationally to ensure even browning. Do not over brown. They should be a light golden color, and not all of it will turn perfectly either. Don't fret, it won't matter.

Once your coconut is toasted mix it into your melted caramel in a medium sized bowl.

Top your shortbread cookies generously with the coconut/caramel mixture.

Melt your chocolate slowly and drizzle over the top of the cookies!

Cool on a cookie sheet until they are set up.

*I stored mine in the fridge since I like them to stay set up well. You can keep them at room temperature in an airtight container, but they will be a teensie bit melty. :)

Oh man these are good. So so good. 

Oh the true and lasting happiness that cookies bring. :) Share that love and take some to your friends!

Enjoy!